Singapore legislation
Clause 12
Clause 12
Amendment of section 16
Section 16 of the principal Act is amended —
by deleting the words “An employment inspector” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “An authorised officer or employment inspector”;
by deleting paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and substituting the following paragraphs:“(a)to enter and inspect, at any reasonable time —
any premises or part thereof when he has reasonable cause to believe that any foreign employee or self-employed foreigner is employed or engaged therein or accommodated thereat; or
where an application for a work pass has been made, the business premises of the employer who made the application;
(aa)to enter and search, by day or by night, any premises or part thereof when he has reasonable cause to believe that evidence of a prescribed infringement or the commission of an offence under this Act, as the case may be, can be found therein;”;
by deleting the words “employment inspector” in subsection (1)(b) and substituting the words “authorised officer or employment inspector”;
by inserting, immediately after the word “photographs” in subsection (1)(f), the words “, or audio or video recording,”;
by deleting the words “under this Act” in subsection (1)(g) and substituting the words “into a prescribed infringement or an offence under this Act, as the case may be,”;
by deleting the full-stop at the end of paragraph (g) of subsection (1) and substituting a semi-colon, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraph:“(h)to require an employer to produce all or any of his employees for the purposes of any investigation into a prescribed infringement or an offence under this Act when required by the authorised officer or employment inspector, as the case may be.”;
by deleting subsections (2) and (3) and substituting the following subsections:“(2) An authorised officer or employment inspector may require the occupier of any premises and the occupier’s agents and any person found in the premises to furnish such means required by the authorised officer or employment inspector, as the case may be, as necessary for any entry, inspection, search, examination or investigation, the taking of photographs or audio or video recordings, the taking of articles into custody or otherwise for the exercise of his powers under this Act.(3) An authorised officer or employment inspector may, after concluding his inspection or investigation, hand over to an immigration officer any travel document which he has taken into custody or which has been produced to him.(3A) If entry to any premises cannot be obtained, an employment inspector may, when he has reasonable cause to believe that any foreign employee or self‑employed foreigner is employed or engaged therein or accommodated thereat or that evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act can be found therein, state his authority and purpose and demand entry to the premises, and —
break open any outer or inner door or window leading to the premises;
forcibly enter such premises and every part thereof; or
remove by force any obstruction to such entry or search.”;
by deleting the words “employment inspector” in subsection (4)(a), (b) and (e) and substituting in each case the words “authorised officer or employment inspector”;
by deleting the words “to obstruct an employment inspector” in subsection (4) and substituting the words “to obstruct an authorised officer or employment inspector, as the case may be,”;
by deleting the words “or any regulations made thereunder” in subsection (5); and
by deleting the words “employment inspector” in the section heading and substituting the words “authorised officers and employment inspectors”.